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I agree - my workplace got very warm yesterday, which it usually struggles to do when it's <10C outside even with the heating on (and the heating was off yesterday). I think the lack of wind played a part, but the sun coming in through the windows felt stronger than usual for the time of year and that was the biggest factor.

Essex Weather Centre has published the results of an investigation into which forecaster has been the most accurate over the last year. The results are, unsurprisingly, based on 'one to five day' forecasts made for Essex, but the results may be relevant elsewhere too. MeteoGroup, who run the WeatherPro app, have come out on top - I'm not surprised because the app always seems to get it spot on. Results (from https://www.essexweather.com/forecast-accuracy.pdf): Weather Forecast Accuracy (1st Nov 13 – 31st Oct 14) Below are the accuracy percentages of the ‘one to five day’ graphical and text forecasts from the top-10 Google ranked weather forecast providers in Essex. Maximum forecast temperature, minimum forecast temperature, icon forecast precipitation and text forecast precipitation are logged daily at 06:00. Temperature accuracy is the percentage of forecasts within two degrees (Celsius). Precipitation accuracy is the percentage of correct forecasts. Forecast data is matched from the nearest Met Office weather station observations at 07:00 and 19:00 GMT daily. (click table to enlarge)

Probably not - you'd need a TV screen that has an HDMI or RCA port to connect it to, as there's no VGA output (although I think you could use a PC monitor if you had an HDMI > VGA adapter). I initially connected mine to my TV, then once it was up and running I could control it from my laptop by remotely connecting to it and doing stuff from a Linux command prompt.

Have you considered using a Fine Offset station with a (Linux-based) Raspberry Pi and software such as 'weewx'? There's quite a bit on Google about that if you do a search. The weather station plugs into the Pi, then weewx logs data from the station and generates webpages with graphs and data which can be viewed on your local network (and you can make them viewable on the internet). Weewx can also be programmed to upload data to the Met Office 'WOW' observation site, as well as Wunderground and others. A Raspberry Pi can be left to run all the time as it uses little power and a screen is optional (as you can remotely access it from another computer). Obviously you'd have to invest in a Pi (they cost around £25 + a few pounds for a wifi dongle) but they're very good. The only downside is that a lot of the setting-up for weewx (and other software) is done by editing configuration files which takes a bit of getting used to. I managed to do it though with very little knowledge of Linux and no knowledge of weewx. My weewx & Pi set-up can be seen here: http://www.henryandjoey.co.uk/weewx

I imagine people are going to get a shock this weekend with the much milder conditions. I'm off work next week which is just as well because my office will be like a sauna on Monday due to the heating being on and the unusual warmth building up over the weekend!

I find April quite a boring month in terms of weather - normally too early for any heat, too late for any proper snow and with a low chance of stormy conditions. Thankfully the days are picking up in length at that point though so that's a positive.

I get up just before 7am and drive off on my commute around 7:15am. I've really noticed the change in sunrise recently - over the last 10 days it's gone from being light when I get up to being almost dark.

My office dropped down to 18C this morning - it was the first time since Spring that the heating was required but it wasn't working properly. This meant a lot of unhappy people! It's been in the low-mid 20s inside every day since May though (no air con!), so not bad really considering the first properly cold day wasn't until today. I find it interesting that people moan more about being cold than hot - personally I prefer being cold to being hot. It's easier to warm up when you're cold (wear extra layers, use a hot water bottle, etc.) than it is to cool down when you're hot (there's only so many layers you can take off!).

I recorded a mean max of 20.0C in September, compared to August's 20.6C. I'd consider September to be the warmer month overall though - the only reason August was higher than September is because the first week of August was very warm. There were only a few days which had maxima of >20C in mid-late August, whereas half of the September maxima were >20C. I recorded 21.6C on Sunday - it's weird to think that I won't be seeing a temp like that again for another six months or so if the forecasts are anything to go by. This late burst of summer has been very welcome though; certainly goes some way to making up for the disappointment of August.

Mirror: October heatwave could hit record levels as experts predict extended Indian summer http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/october-heatwave-could-hit-record-4302563#rlabs=1 They're predicting temperatures in the low-mid 20s for this week which is at odds with all other forecasts! Time will tell whether their prediction of October being one of the hottest ever is accurate. I suppose the Express/Mirror 'forecasts' have to be correct at some point just going by the law of averages!

By the way here's my box: I've since painted the inside of the box black to further help. The design I based it on is here (I added the plastic louvres and increased the dimensions a bit): http://www.weatherforschools.me.uk/docs/weather_box_digital.pdf Just a note on shade provided by vegetation - the downside can be that natural processes (e.g. evapotranspiration) can cause cooler temperatures in the day and warmer temperatures at night next to the vegetation, but I've not found that to be the case as my readings are quite similar to official stations in the area. I suppose it depends on the extent of the vegetation though.

I've had my sensors in shade provided by a tree because I never had a proper screen/box. I realised it was probably too shady - i.e. it wasn't representative of most of my garden because no sun was getting to the area where my sensor was. I thought I'd have a go at making my own box, using a design on the internet, to see if I could place the box in direct sunlight. It's made of wood and looks very similar to yours, and like you I found the readings were 'spiking' when the sun came out and were obviously too high. In the end I placed the whole box in an area which is still slightly shaded by the tree but the whole area does get some direct sunlight (it just doesn't hit my box). This has done the trick - the box does its job as it's shading the sensor from heat being reflected from other surfaces, but it's more representative of the actual temperature in my garden. I'm not convinced any DIY screens/boxes are up to the trick to provide a shield from direct sunlight, so my advice would be to place your whole box in an area that is partially shaded from direct sunlight (I know some would probably disagree with me though!).

Very intense thunderstorm here this morning which lasted over an hour from 4am - 19.8mm of rain fell in total, with about 14mm falling in 20 minutes. The rest of the day was very humid, around 80% for most of the day, and with temps peaking at 22.4C it felt pretty unpleasant and sticky. I already felt tired due to being kept awake by the storm (although it meant I caught the most important Scottish referendum results being announced!) and the mugginess didn't help!

I've had my weather station a year now, and today I recorded the most ever rain in a day (19.8mm). The 2nd most rainiest is 18th Jul (due to an intense storm in the morning; also the hottest day of the year) and the 3rd is the August bank holiday (total washout). Similarly to the early hours of 18th Jul, there was a massive storm last night which woke me up at 4am. I watched the Scottish referendum TV coverage for a while (and saw the most important results come in!) and then went to sleep again at 5am once the storm had passed. The rain was very heavy and I recorded my highest ever 'rain rate' at 04:25, with about 14mm of the 19.8mm falling in just 20 minutes. The storm finished off what has been the best year since 2009 or earlier for thunderstorms in my area (I know we're only in summer astronomically, but still).

I don't wish to trigger an age-old debate, but one of the arguments against BST all-year round is that people would drive to work in the dark in the winter which is apparently more dangerous as they're less alert. It's the opposite for me though (and surely many others) - I find I'm more alert in the morning when driving (especially in the dark), rather than in the evening after a day in the office.

I'm a bit torn over winter - I'd like to see some properly cold weather with snow, but it's a real pain logistically (the dangers of ice when driving, time wasted scraping the windscreen, having to wear loads of layers outside, etc). So I'm hoping for a mostly dry and fairly cool winter with a couple of notable (but short-lived) snowy spells - preferably over Christmas. I'd rather not have all the rain we had last winter!

That's my birthday so I'm all in favour of that being the turning point. I'd say today is the day where I've really noticed the loss of light, mostly because it's still pretty warm outside but the sun has just set.

Yes - Chelmsford was grey today! Well the sky was anyway. Disappointing day in terms of temps too - forecast to be 23C but no higher than 20.3C for me, and the Writtle and Andrewsfield stations didn't get higher than 20Cish either. I suppose the danger at this time of year is that cloud/mist/fog is likely to linger as the sun isn't so strong. It's weird to think we're only a few days from the autumn equinox - it's felt more like a dull-ish July over the last few weeks.

Very cloudy here and the temperature struggling to climb as a result - just 17C. Will be interesting to see if the sun manages to burn off the cloud to achieve a max in the low 20s (as forecast). Tomorrow the warmer air coming up from the continent should be drier so less fog and cloud with higher temps.

That sounds like quite an ingenious setup! Do you have a photo of it? Same here - I recorded a gust today of 14mph; the last time I recorded one that high was 30 Aug. I find it's unusual to get such a long period with no strong-ish gusts, even during calmer periods.

The BBC is going for a max of 25C in the south-east during this coming week, although WeatherPro (which is normally pretty accurate) has downgraded its 25C prediction to 23C for my area. The 'heatwave' at the start of September was continually downgraded and ended up being nothing special - hopefully this coming week will actually produce the notable warmth that the models have been showing!

How exposed is the whole screen? Does the sun shine on it all day or is it only at certain times of the day?

Yes, the cold and darker mornings and evenings are a reminder that autumn is here in a way. I'm noticing trees shedding their leaves at a faster rate now. I've not recorded a wind gust above 11mph all month so far - I suspect a bit more wind would make the trees look a little barer too.

The fan is an interesting solution! I assume it's arranged so that the fan blows air out of the shield, so that air is pulled over the sensor rather than being blown onto it? Does this ensure any heat produced by the fan doesn't affect the sensor?

Yes, there have been some interesting temperature extremes over the last few days because of the warm days and cool nights - a range of about 16C between the max and min where I am. It's a bit odd driving to the office with the car heating on, then driving home with the windows open as it's warmed up so much!